Process

Saloni focused on the physical prototype and Dillon focused on the technology prototype simultaneously.  The goal of our project up until the demo was to ensure that our idea would work, technically. As a result, we focused much more on functionality than user experience, and it showed during our demo.

Physical

To start off this process, I began by brainstorming different approaches to making the paper disappear from the platform. After deciding on a solution, I moved on to prototyping. The first step was to create a button powered motor system. Next, I worked on creating a structure to hold the motor and a structure that could hold wound up string. After designing and laser cutting these pieces, I assembled everything together and tested it out.

After getting the motor system to work, I worked on figuring out how to connect it to a platform. I decided to use cardboard for the platform because it was light. I created a hinge for one side of the platform and attached the other side to the motor system using a string. Similarly, I created another motor system that would move the platform in the opposite direction.

Finally, I worked on creating the rest of the structure that would house the motor system and platform. I decided to make it a box with a hole that a user could put their hand through.

Technology

The process of creating the code for Alexis can be broken down into a few steps: research, code search, and implementation. For example, for the speech to text, I conducted research into how feasible it would be, and what solutions would offer the best results. Often, it was deciding between OpenCV or Google. Once I decided on a solution, I would look for sample code or documentation. For the Google Cloud services I found a Github repository containing code provided by Google. Once I found the code and installed the requisite libraries, I would start tinkering with it, figuring out how it worked and would try to insert code or create new methods to suit our needs. 

The decision to add optical character recognition was one very late into the process; we couldn’t decide whether or not it was feasible at that stage but felt that it would be a good decision to at least try as it would elevate the user experience and hopefully elicit more of a feeling of sacrifice.